Toyota donates sh23m for HIV education among children

Aug 25, 2016

Beneficiary districts include Gulu, Fort Portal and Arua. The money will be used in equipping learning centres with scholastic materials.

Toyota Uganda and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have partnered to increase literacy levels of children in rural areas. Under the partnership, Toyota contributed sh23m to supplement other initiatives from USAID.

Beneficiary districts include Gulu, Fort Portal and Arua.  The money will be used in equipping learning centres with scholastic materials.

Saeeda Prew, the project director Research Triangle Institute (RTI) on receiving the funding, said the literacy programme will improve early childhood education in Uganda.

"The programme is aimed at improving the reading ability of children in early grades and health seeking behavior in schools,'' Prew said.

She said the 5-year project will improve the quality of education, by emphasising early grade reading and HIV /AIDS education.  Part of the money will support 800 children living with HIV/AIDS.

"We also intend to focus on strengthening the government system and build staff capacity as well as addressing challenges of low literacy levels and high HIV prevalence," she noted.

Prew added since the launch of the project in 2012, they have trained 20,636 teachers in early grades readings and 10,202 teachers have also been trained to deliver HIV/AIDS education.

"We have also distributed two million pupil primers and teachers' guides, library books and over 3000 schools have been covered," she said.

The managing director of Toyota Uganda Mahmood Omar said this is the second time they were making a contribution towards child development in Uganda.

 

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